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2017 – the way & getting out of it

Strolling the English countryside with a friend and dog is always uplifting. She’s been doing some amazing taekwondo coaching sessions with refugees this year. It’s always useful to learn about other humanitarian and development projects which make a lot of noise but don’t achieve longer term outcomes (as people who are on the ground working for years say this over and over again).

Water related projects as blogged previously have been going slower than hoped. There are probably a record number of parasites now wanting to make 2018 the year of water sanitation and be the ones who do the biggest and best (but won’t be sustainable). So one of projects will probably be swept aside by the tech & others stampede, however we will continue our path for now.

Continuing to learn Russian with possibly group classes in London this spring. Once I can read some Russian website pages and improve quality of spoken & written ( Feb/end of Feb), will be starting to contact people to see if there is interest, opportunity, non duplication or existing sustainable local work; and also contact appropriate legal people to check we have legal routes for potential projects (we do but we will need advice probably & have got details of someone who does this legal work).

There’s growing interest in friends and others wanting to visit Russia in particular for leisure so will hopefully be combining with the above & organising trip/s (probably not before Sept as of now but who knows).

We also have an NHS and welfare state to retrieve so that vulnerable people can improve their health, be economically active where possible and feel their contribution to society and family is worthwhile.

Everything has been all over the place in the last 18 or so months but it’s starting to come together combining environmental and health. Alongside, many more younger people more politically active especially in Labour party so as Clive Peedell (the doctor I was agent for against Cameron in 2015 election) put it “will hold my nose and vote for them”. No longer feels like a minority ‘actively’ campaigning with shared viewpoints on important issues.

Onwards and onwards. Here’s part of Polesden Lacey estate this morning. The house in background is a tiny but lovely Youth Hostel (all youth hostels open to all ages). Happy New Year to any humans reading this and hope you have a good one!